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Scion
Since the dawn of man, the Gods have involved themselves in the affairs of humankind—and in affairs with humankind. Slaking their all-too-human desires with the flesh of mortal paramours, the Gods often sire half-breed offspring. These children, Scions, are invariably left for their mortal parents to care for. Though far weaker than their divine parents, Scions possess abilities far beyond those of any mere mortal. These abilities are often augmented even further by Boons and Birthrights provided by the Scions’ godly parents. As a result, Scions tend to rise to positions of power and influence. However, the life of a Scion is far from easy. Though bound by ancient pacts, filial loyalty and fear of Fatebinding from harming one another directly, the Gods are perfectly willing to strike at their rivals by killing or maiming a favored mortal son or daughter. The tales of Heracles, Onamuji and Sigurd are ample proof of that. The danger a Scion faces has only multiplied with the escape of the Titans, the progenitors and ancient foes of the gods. Like the agents of the Gods, titanspawn often go out of their way to slay Scions before they can grow into their full power. In ancient times, the Gods interfered in human lives more directly, letting rampaging beasts, natural disasters, plague and famine speak of their displeasure with man. In addition, the spawn of the Titans often lurked just outside civilization, ready to devour hapless mortals who stopped at the wrong spring to drink or took the wrong paths through the deep woods. It was to Scions that mortals looked for protection from supernatural predation, and it was Scions who often interceded with the Gods on mortals behalf, flattering them or moving them to feel pity, or offering the Gods service if they would spare the weaker mortals. In due time, the Gods retreated from the World. With the titanspawn threat wiped out by the efforts of early Scions, the corresponding rapid growth of human civilization and the conflict between nations threatened through the chains of Fate to draw the pantheons of Gods into war. To avoid this eventuality, the heads of the various pantheons met and agreed that the Gods should leave mankind to its own devices before the massive Fatebinding effects either threw them into conflict or changed them beyond all recognition. In response, most Gods retreated to the Overworld, only visiting the World occasionally in mortal guises. Despite their overall withdrawal from worldly affairs, the Gods are compulsive meddlers. Though seldom taking direct action against one another or overtly guiding the course of humanity, the Gods still possessed a means of interfering in human history, their Scions. Over the millennia since the Gods’ retreat, a myriad of Scions have lived and died, most ignorant of their fantastic origins. However, in every generation, a few Scions worldwide, seldom more than a handful, receive a Visitation from their divine parents, unlocking the power of the ichor flowing through their veins. One or two in a century might even be gifted with Birthrights. Prior to the present day, the last conflicts involving a large number of Birthright-armed Scions were the two World Wars (both of which are now regarded as fiascos by the Gods). All that changed with a single event, the escape of the Titans. Somehow sundering their Underworld prison (and in the process, damaging the realms of the dead), the Titans have reentered the Overworld after eons of imprisonment, hungering to regain their former rule and revenge themselves on their wayward offspring, the Gods. While a war between Gods and Titans rages in the heavens, the Titans have begun seeding the World again with their spawn. In response, the Gods have begun visiting their Scions in greater number and arming them with mighty Birthrights that they may stop the titanspawn from establishing a beachhead in the World of men. Though humanity has long since tamed all but the most remote or dangerous areas of the mortal World, the return of the Titans and the unleashing of their monstrous titanspawn represents a threat beyond the ken of modern man. Only the Scions are equipped to deal with such threats, and are again filling their ancient role of guardians of man and human civilization. Spawn of the Gods, nemeses of the Titans and protectors of humanity, Scions are all this and more. The war for the World and Overworld saw rise to the new breed of Gods and Titans: the Metis. Feared their presence would change the tide, the Gods ordered their Scions to hunt and destroy this new strain wherever they could. This proved disastrous, as surviving hybrids banded up and struck alliances with various titanspawns, raising armies and hunting Scions. Though the scions managed to survive, some pantheons (such as Aesir and Pesedjet) are almost hunted to extinction by hybrids. And now a fragile new balance resides in the World, where hybrids take control of city after city, the titanspawn and scions work in the shadows to gain the upper hand once again.